1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to integrated electronic email and instant messaging applications.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electronic mail (email) and instant messaging (IM) are two of the most common forms of communication over the Internet. While many entities maintain private email servers which provide email service, a common form of email is web-based having browser based clients. Such email services are provided by service providers such as Microsoft Corporation, of Redmond, Wash., using a web based email service. A computer connected to the Internet can access the web email service using a web browser. Web email services are provided to an email service domain. The email service domain is comprised of entities having an account with the email service. To access a web email service, a user having an account provides a user identifier and a password into a user interface rendered by the browser. After the user identifier and password are confirmed against the user's account, email services are provided to the user through an interface loaded by the browser. Web based email services allow the user to maintain an email contact list, send and receive emails and otherwise manage an email account through the interface.
IM allows a user to send and receive messages nearly instantaneously with other IM service users over a network or collection of networks, such as the Internet. IM services are provided by service providers such as “MICROSOFT” Corporation. A computer connected to the Internet can access the IM service using a client application. The client application can be implemented as a local client or a browser based client. A local client is a program which is stored on the computer and provides an interface allowing a user to access the IM service. A browser based client is a program which is generally provided by a web server. The interface loaded from the server allows the user to access the IM service. IM services are provided to an IM service domain, which is comprised of entities having an account with the IM service.
To use IM, a user establishes an account by providing account information including a user identifier, a password, and a list of messenger contacts. Subsequent login to the service requires the user to provide the user identifier and password. Upon confirmation of the login information with the user's account information, the particular client (either local or browser based) displays an interface indicating the user's presence, messenger contact list and the presence of each contact. Presence is a status indication of whether an entity is online or offline. In another embodiment, a presence can have a state of “busy”, “away”, “out to lunch”, or other states. If the entity, such as the user or a contact on the user's messenger contact list, is logged in to a messenger server within the email service, than the entity's presence is “online”. Otherwise, the presence for the entity is “offline”.
The user may select a contact from the messenger contact list displayed in an IM interface to initiate a conversation. Once selected, the client-application associated with each conversation member provides a conversation window. In some IM systems, the client applications associated with a conversation receive direct contact information for each other to provide direct communication between them. In other IM services, the client applications for each conversation member are connected to each other through the IM system. When a conversation member sends a message, the IM system receives the message, finds the recipient member's computer location and routes the message to the particular computer. IM services such as “MSN MESSENGER” use this method.
Currently, an email service and an IM service each require their own interface. To access both an email service and an IM service, a discrete interface is required for each service. Some web service providers provide both an email service and an IM service for a user within the service provider's domain. Though these service providers provide an IM service that generates a notification through the IM interface when an email is received for the user within the domain, each service is provided through a separate interface and requires a separate login.
Hence, methods and systems which provide for convenient access to email and IM are of great value.